The SEO and PPC Checklist for Optimal Publicity

If you take SEO, PPC, and PR and put them on the same team what happens? Trifecta.

We had a chance to catch up with Joe Laratro, the Search marketing expert and author of The SEO Diet at Pubcon to find out the real truth behind search results, paid and organic, and how to make sure your visibility is always on page one! Laratro is the Founder and President of Tandem Interactive that focuses on the under-serviced areas of Online Marketing and even more so on training and education.

Read on for his SEO and PPC maintenance checklist. 

SEO Checklist

Ensure your brand is in tip-top SEO shape with these platform recommendations and process reminders:

1) Google Search Console is used to monitor Google search results data for your properties.

• HTML recommendations
• Robots.txt and sitemap
• 404 errors

2) Regular Spidering is a process via third party platform that visits websites in order to create entries for search engine index. 

• Screaming Frog
• MOZ

3) A site’s Architecture can help with crawlability and indexation. Configure your site’s:

• Theme and sub-themed linking
• Site speed and mobile-friendly
• SSL certificate

4) Page Titles are the first thing a user sees in search results, but it's also one of the most important factors that Google uses to determine the topic of a page.

• <title> Page Title</title>
• 65 characters, no duplicates

5) Meta Descriptions show in the search engine results, they can affect CTRs (click-through rates), which are linked to SEO & rankings. 

• 160 character snippet

6) H and Alt Text provides information that search engines use to determine the best image to return for a search query.

• Utilize H1 and H2 tags
• Ensure tags exist for content and images

7) Content Optimization is making sure that content is written in a way that it can reach the largest possible target audience. 

• Relevant and unique text
• Inner linking
• Cornerstone content

8) Social Media SEO is how social media activities can boost your website's organic traffic through search engines.

• Create brand awareness
• Socialize content

At The Buyer Group we schedule monthly “health checks” to ensure on these SEO best practices are in use. The “health check” is a 15-minute touch base where we review content, plan for upcoming blogs and move on to the next thing. There’s no better time then now.

PPC Checklist

Paid social and digital ads are the feather on the optimized marketers hat. Once you’ve created content that has a strong base of SEO, strategy and creativity, it’s time to publish and promote. Laratro’s PPC checklist will keep you apprised of the key strategies most relevant to today’s online environment.

1) Keywords are the foundation for everything in PPC. They are what defines where your ads should appear.

• Analyze search query report
• Look for low-quality scores
• Test different match types

2) Ad Copy is crucial to not only introducing your brand messaging and offering to a customer but also enticing them to visit your website.

• Audit ad performance 
• Review copy and tone
• Seasonality? Punctuation? Offers?

3) Ad Extensions give your ads more prominence on the search results page. 

• Test call extensions
• Review and promo extensions
• Are your callouts performing?

4) Remarketing helps you to regain visitors by showing them ads in other places.

• Placements audit
• Retarget web, email and social audiences
• Test new ads (HTML 5)

5) Shopping Ads see higher conversion rates than most search campaigns.

• Dimensions audit for product groupings
• Custom label optimizations

6) YouTube Ads allows you to connect with potential customers through a more targeted approach.

• Impressions/view performance
• Expand Reach
• Six seconds vs fifteen seconds

In addition to these functional checklist items, keep everything in line with annual and monthly KPI performance alongside spend and CPA (cost per acquisition). With today’s marketing focus changing so frequently and everyone wearing so many hats it can be challenging to keep your eye on the SEO and PPC prize. Our recommendation is that it’s worth it. Foundational and ongoing efforts to optimize your search rankings is a must. 

Have questions? Schedule a free consultation today.